1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for eliminating wrinkles in clothes in a washing or a drying machine having a steam generating device, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for eliminating wrinkles in clothes by generating steam to the inside of a washing or a drying machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a drying machine is an apparatus for drying wet clothes by rotating a drum containing the clothes (laundry) at a low speed and supplying hot air, obtained by heating and using a heater, to the inside of the drum. Recently, a washing machine having a drying device for performing a drying function (generally, a drum washing machine) is being sold on the market.
Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0435241 discloses a washing machine having a drying device.
When the washing machine, disclosed by the above Patent, performs a drying operation after a dehydrating operation, a drying fan (a blower) generates and sprays compressed air under the condition that a heater is driven to heat an inner space of a chamber.
The sprayed compressed air passes thorough the inner space of the chamber and is converted into hot air, and the hot air is supplied to clothes in a drum to dry the clothes.
The above conventional washing machine removes moisture from the clothes using air of a high temperature heated by the heater under the condition that the dehydrated clothes are placed in the drum, thereby causing the clothes, which have become tangled in the dehydrating operation, to be dried, thus generating wrinkles in the clothes.
In order to solve the above problem, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0128148 discloses a method for minimizing wrinkles in clothes by supplying steam having a designated moisture content to the dried clothes.
A washing machine, disclosed by the above Utility Model, supplies steam to the clothes, which were dried while in a tangled state, so that the clothes have a designated moisture content. Accordingly, when the clothes are shaken and spread, and are hung out for a designated time, the moisture of the clothes naturally evaporates and the clothes are smoothed out so that the wrinkles in the clothes are minimized. Further, when the clothes are ironed to eliminate the wrinkles, additional moisture is not required, thereby shortening the ironing time. However, since the wrinkles still remain in the clothes, the above method is disadvantageous in that a user must iron the clothes and a drying time taken to naturally evaporate the moisture of the clothes is long.
A drying machine exclusively having a drying function has the above problems, also.
Further, in the case that the steam is supplied to the clothes in a low-temperature state in winter, when the steam at a high temperature is sprayed, a door made of glass may become frozen and crack. When the steam is sprayed to the insides of a duct and a drum at a low temperature, the steam is converted into water and the water falls in the inside of the duct and the drum, or if the steam is sprayed, the steam is condensed on the surface of the glass door at a low temperature and water passes along the surface of the glass door. That is, it is difficult to efficiently spray steam.
Further, in order to reduce the wrinkles in clothes, a method for forming an algorithm for setting courses and functions for forcibly terminating a drying operation when the drying operation at a temperature for a time predetermined according to materials of the clothes is in progress so that ironing is easily performed is suggested. However, the above method eliminates the wrinkles in the clothes only by washing or ironing, but does not have a function for eliminating the wrinkle in the clothes generated when the clothes are put on by a user or stored.